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PO Box 3160 Mentone East, Victoria 3194, Australia
Phone: (03) 8686 9077
Website: www.grifteducation.com
Email: orders@grifteducation.com
Code: SOT8777
ISBN: 9781923198777
Printed in Australia
To Brian’s sister, Barbara Frances Santoro, for her thirty years of dedicated work with intellectually challenged young adults
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Our gratitude goes to Howard Gardner and Carol Ann Tomlinson for their pioneering work. Their theories have changed the worldview of the human mind and its propensities for learning.
Our appreciation goes to Shirley Hord, Rick and Becky DuFour, Robert Eaker, and Mike Schmoker for their groundbreaking work. They have released teachers from behind closed doors to the collaborative community of professional learners.
Our acknowledgment goes to the reviewers, editors, proofreaders, and production staff for their painstaking work. They have managed their publishing roles and deadlines with precision and panache.
Solution Tree Press would like to thank the following reviewers:
Barbara Arnold
Leadership Development Consultant
Ottawa Catholic School Board
Ottawa, Ontario
Dixon Brooks Principal
Fulmer Middle School
West Columbia, South Carolina
Paul Farmer
Professional Learning Communities at Work ™ Associate
Solution Tree
Fairfax, Virginia
Robin Hartman
Seventh-Grade Language Arts and Reading Teacher
Bear Valley Middle School
Escondido, California
Debra McClanahan
Director of Professional Development
Marana Unified School District Marana, Arizona
Deborah McDonough
Second-Grade Teacher
Roosevelt Elementary Tampa, Florida
Linda Shay School Incubation and Knowledge Management, Office of New Schools
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago, Illinois
Kenneth Williams Author, Speaker Unfold the Soul Tyrone, Georgia
Karyn Wright Director of Staff Development
Clark County School District
Las Vegas, Nevada
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Robin J. Fogarty, PhD, is president of Robin Fogarty & Associates, a Chicago-based, minority-owned educational publishing and consulting company. Her doctorate is in curriculum and human resource development from Loyola University of Chicago. A leading proponent of the thoughtful classroom, Robin has trained educators throughout the world in curriculum, instruction, and assessment strategies. She has taught at all levels, from kindergarten to college, served as an administrator, and consulted with state departments and ministries of education in the United States, Puerto Rico, Russia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Great Britain, Singapore, Korea, and the Netherlands. Robin has published articles in Educational Leadership, Phi Delta Kappan, and the Journal of Staff Development. She is the author of numerous publications, including Brain-Compatible Classrooms, Ten Things New Teachers Need, Literacy Matters, How to Integrate the Curricula, Close the Achievement Gap, Informative Assessment: When It’s Not About a Grade, Twelve Brain Principles That Make the Difference, and Nine Best Practices That Make the Difference. Her recent work includes the two-book leadership series, From Staff Room to Classroom.
Brian M. Pete is cofounder of Robin Fogarty & Associates, an educational consulting and publishing company. He comes from a family of educators—college professors, school superintendents, teachers, and teachers of teachers. He has a rich background in professional development. Brian has worked and taped classroom teachers and professional experts in schools throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. He has an eye for the “teachable moment” and the words to describe what he sees as skillful teaching. Brian’s educational videos include Best Practices: Classroom Management and Best Practices: Active Learning Classrooms. He is coauthor of ten books, which include Data Driven Decisions, Twelve Brain Principles That Make the Difference, Nine Best Practices That Make the Difference, The Adult Learner, and A Look at Transfer. His most recent publications, From Staff Room to Classroom I and II, target change agents in schools.
FOREWORD
JAY M C TIGHE
The words of the classic Bob Dylan song “The Times They Are A-Changin’” could not more accurately describe aspects of education today. In particular, the professional demands of teaching have undergone striking shifts in recent years, and this book reflects two of the most noteworthy.
Permit a bit of nostalgia here. I began teaching in 1971 during a very different era. Not only were we teachers neither obligated to uphold academic standards, nor held accountable for the results of high-stakes testing, but administrative expectations were much more lenient. For instance, in my school, virtually any teacher would be rated as “satisfactory” who received few parental complaints and who addressed behavior problems primarily in the classroom instead of bumping them to the front office. In those days, much less attention was paid to learning results, in part because appropriate measures were lacking. Achievement tests, such as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, were norm referenced, not standards based, and their results were often cited to justify educators’ perceptions of student aptitudes. Moreover, it was widely assumed that learners’ intellectual capabilities were largely fixed at birth, could be quantified as an intelligence quotient (IQ) score, and were spread across a bell-shaped curve. This seemed fine, since prevailing one-size-fits-all methods of teaching were likely to yield just such an achievement curve, thus reinforcing the expectations that some learners had “it” and some didn’t. The consequences of failure to fully develop the talents of all students were not so dire, since in those days there were still many well-paying jobs in the trades and factories that did not require a higher education. In fact, I remember a prevailing norm in my school: “higher-order skills for the gifted, basic skills for the rest.”
Fast-forward forty years. My youngest daughter is now studying to be a teacher, and she will enter a profession with very different opportunities, challenges, and expectations. Not only will she serve an increasingly diverse population of learners, she will be expected to move all students toward rigorous academic standards and 21st century skills. She will encounter an educational system that has shifted from focusing on inputs and process to one that emphasizes results. Additionally, the guiding beliefs about learning have a-changed. Intelligence is no longer conceived as a single, fixed entity. Neuroscientists have documented the extraordinary plasticity of the brain to change and grow in dramatic ways, and learners are believed to have varying degrees of strengths in multiple intelligences. The emergence of powerful information technologies and a global economy have “flattened” the world. Not only have many manufacturing jobs moved offshore to lower-wage workplaces, but increasingly high-skilled occupations are similarly relocating. A world-class education is imperative for individuals and nations.
Such seismic shifts, within and beyond the education establishment, beckon us to consider the two ideas conjoined in this book—differentiated instruction and professional learning communities. Differentiated instruction logically extends from a straightforward proposition—that learners differ in their prior knowledge and experience, their interests, and their preferred ways of learning. Accordingly, the most effective teaching responds to these differences by adjusting (differentiating) how content is presented, how learners are able to process it, and how they are allowed to demonstrate their learning. We now recognize that a one-size-fits-all instructional approach is unlikely to maximize achievement for all learners. Indeed, the goal of helping all students achieve high standards demands instruction that is responsive to their varied nature and needs.
The emergence of the PLC movement in recent years reflects yet another paradigm shift in the profession. Back in my day, teachers’ work was a largely solitary and private experience, divorced from other adults in the school building. While I enjoyed the company of (most of) my fellow teachers, professional collaboration was not the norm. Indeed, the unstated rule was that teachers went into their rooms, closed the doors, did their thing, and didn’t let anyone get too close. It was decidedly not the norm to share lessons or unit plans, let anyone watch your teaching (other than the obligatory and often perfunctory administrative observation), nor examine learning results or student work in teams. When students were falling behind academically, it was assumed that they were simply reflecting the lower side of the expected curve. In cases of more severe achievement deficits, they were referred to special education and pulled out of regular classes.
Today, the game has changed. Teachers increasingly operate as members of PLCs within and across grades and subject areas. PLC members typically engage as teams
to map the curriculum and design units, analyze achievement data from external test results, and examine student work derived from common assessments. Student learning results lead to collaboratively developed plans to address areas of need, and teachers plan a pyramid of interventions, sharing their best ideas and resources for both remediation and enrichment.
While the topics of differentiated instruction and PLCs are typically addressed independently, authors Robin Fogarty and Brian Pete weave the two into a seamless garment. The book proposes a pathway toward true professional development that honors the professionalism of teachers while concurrently targeting the achievement needs of the academically diverse learners they serve.
While each major chapter includes summaries of relevant theories and research, the book is anything but “ivory tower” in its orientation. Instead, the emphasis is pragmatic. The authors marry analytic insight with the practical wisdom of veteran educators as they share a variety of proven techniques for building teams, forging shared beliefs, dissecting data, attaining consensus, and teaching responsively.
This book is kaleidoscopic in that it offers many individual gems that combine to form powerful mosaics for teaching, learning, and professional collaboration. As a beginning teacher, my daughter will benefit from reading it. You will as well.
INTRODUCTION
PLCS AND DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
PLC TAKE AWAY
Learning How Collaboration Supports Substantive Change
Supporting Differentiated Instruction: A Professional Learning Communities Approach strives for a pragmatic approach to both the collaborative spirit of professional learning communities (PLCs) and the rigorous work of differentiated classroom instruction. One is about teaching decisions for professional staff, the other about learning decisions for students. As the discussion unfolds, we examine this teaching-learning equation in the practical light of how PLCs provide the decision-making platform for differentiated classroom instruction.
As team members soon find out, there is more to a PLC than simply coming together. The meeting times have been scheduled, the PLC notebooks are out, and the teacher teams are in place; everything is where it should be, but what is the next step? The teachers know what they want to happen, but aren’t sure how to move the scenario along on their own.
Differentiated learning in the classroom can cause a comparable dilemma. A social studies teacher knows exactly how to follow the basic lesson—how to plan the instruction, introduce the vocabulary, integrate relevant activities, and create key assignments, and when to ask the essential questions to begin student projects. She knows that this will suit the majority of her social studies students, who have
come to expect and even favor her style and order of teaching. However, she doesn’t always know how to differentiate this standard lesson for those who are struggling, need motivation, or require more challenging choices.
There is need for further understanding, information, and collaboration to support differentiation within a PLC approach. While all classroom teachers differentiate instruction in some fundamental way, the challenge is in developing reflective teachers who can identify what to differentiate, how to differentiate it, and explain why they differentiate it. A PLC provides the structure for those all-important collegial conversations that support foundational questions and critical decisions about differentiating classroom instruction.
Teachers need plausible methods to put these profound theories of collaboration and differentiation into classroom practice. In short, teachers need a framework to guide them in fostering differentiated instruction from the PLC to the K–12 classroom; Supporting Differentiated Instruction: A Professional Learning Community Approach is that guide.
Supporting Differentiated Instruction provides teachers with the tools and techniques for reflective dialogue. More specifically, the discussion offers ideas to support meaningful decisions with plain talk about accessible, ongoing data and the instructional tools needed for robust differentiation in classroom instruction. A PLC approach to differentiated instruction trusts the teachers and the learners. It differs and it differentiates. It converses and it collaborates. It meanders and it measures. And in the end, it instructs and inspires by consistently and continually putting kids first.
About the Book
Learning How PLCs Use This Resource to Promote Student Success
Supporting Differentiated Instruction is arranged around a teaching-and-learning discussion focused on supporting differentiating instruction with a PLC approach. Some PLCs, teams within PLCs, or single readers may want to proceed chronologically, moving from chapter to chapter. They might choose to create an extended book study or use the chapters as a roadmap. Others may choose to dip in and out of the chapters, targeting particular elements that match their own progress in the differentiation process.
The chapters can either stand alone or create a comprehensive view of differentiated instruction through a PLC approach. Each chapter begins with a Take Away objective that guides the discussion and ends with Action Options of highly interactive
PLC TAKE AWAY
strategies based on the chapter’s Take Away. We’ve designed these tools for teams to utilize as they unpack the complex process of sustaining and facilitating differentiated instruction. At the end of the day, the goal is to help PLC teams manage the complexity of the instructional arena in ways that personalize instruction for the success of each and every student in the system.
Following are chapter summaries designed to help you decide how best to approach this resource.
Chapter 1: All About Collaboration
Chapter 1 is framed by the Take Away “Learning How PLCs Support Student Success.” This first chapter addresses the most fundamental logistics of working within the culture of professional learning communities. It also outlines the many decisions necessary for PLCs to function fully and effectively by discussing the key questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Chapter 2: All About Differentiation
Chapter 2 develops the complex concept of differentiated instruction. The Take Away targets the essence of that discussion: “Learning How Differentiation Addresses Student Needs.” We explain both an explicit and an implicit model of defining differentiation in this chapter. The goal, of course, is to present a viable understanding for all stakeholders in PLC teams as teachers pursue the process of developing and designing a more differentiated approach to instruction. The important message in this chapter is that PLC team members need to come to an agreement and develop a working consensus on what differentiation means to them. In addition, this chapter investigates research on the brain and learning that provides a rationale for differentiating instruction.
Chapter 3: All About the Learners
The Take Away guiding this chapter is “Learning How Student Data Support Differentiation.” Chapter 3 addresses the center point of differentiation: the students. In order to differentiate instruction, a PLC’s first learner-centered task is to conduct explicit measures to really get to know the students that the team members serve. This chapter examines ways to determine student readiness, student interests, and student learning profiles. We also include basic facts about gender and culture, as well as student attitudes and self-esteem.
Chapter 4: Changing the Content
Shaped by the Take Away “Learning How Teachers Differentiate Content to Meet Student Needs,” chapter 4 starts with a practical look at what the process of
differentiation actually looks and sounds like in the K–12 classroom. It introduces three proven macrostrategies that teachers can effectively use as they plan how to offer a more differentiated approach to instruction: (1) complexity, (2) resources, and (3) environment.
Chapter 5: Changing the Process
Chapter 5’s Take Away is “Learning How Teachers Differentiate Learning Processes to Meet Student Needs.” This discussion provides readers with an in-depth look at various techniques to change student learning processes. Chapter 5 presents and analyzes differentiation options in three major areas of development: (1) direct instruction, (2) cooperative learning, and (3) inquiry learning.
Chapter 6: Changing the Product
Guided by the Take Away “Learning How Teachers Differentiate Product Options to Meet Student Needs,” chapter 6 investigates specific areas in which teachers can design product options as evidence of student learning. Embedded in this differentiation theory of changing the product is the understanding that students thrive when teachers give them multiple entry points, exit points, and accountability options.
Chapter 7: Diverse-Learner Strategies
Chapter 7 is directed by the Take Away “Learning How PLCs Share Differentiation Strategies for Diverse Learners.” This chapter explores what many teachers are already doing as they address the needs of a diverse classroom culture. Using the concept of learner archetypes, we address the following four types of learners: (1) developing learners, (2) advanced learners, (3) English learners, and (4) learners with special needs.
Chapter 8: Changing Lessons for Student Success
This chapter’s Take Away is “Learning How Teachers Move Differentiated Lessons From Theory to Practice.” The discussion helps PLC teams focus on applying the differentiation principles of change, challenge, and choice to lesson design. Chapter 8 guides teachers as they apply the tenets of the Tomlinson model of differentiated instruction, using a step-by-step process of changing the content, the processes, and the products to address student readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles. The chapter includes sample lessons at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
Chapter 9: Changing Units for Student Success
Highlighting the Take Away “Learning How Teachers Move Differentiated Curriculum Units From Theory to Practice,” chapter 9 provides tools to differentiate
the curriculum unit. Teachers change the products by offering multimodal entry points and exit points, and they change accountability by offering multiple assessment options in the areas of traditional portfolios and performance. The chapter also includes curriculum units at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
Chapter 10: Next Steps
The Take Away for chapter 10 is “Learning How Teachers Decide on the Next StudentSuccess Priority,” which emphasizes the importance of using data when considering what the next steps are. Chapter 10 focuses team members on specifically what they will do to implement continual instructional change in their classrooms. Examples of a semester-long schedule and yearlong schedule are included to guide teams.
Action Options
It is time to look at the first Action Options section. Start by revisiting the Take Away objective, read the introductory comment on the connections to learning communities, and proceed to the specific Action Option strategies. This section differs from other Action Option sections you will encounter because it addresses two separate Take Aways with two Action Options each.
PLC TAKE AWAY
Learning How Collaboration Supports Substantive Change
PLC teams consist of classroom teachers who have had their schedules modified to provide time to plan together. Unfortunately, busy teachers may initially treat this time as a bother rather than a benefit. One key to helping teachers value this collaborative planning time is the use of structured, interactive strategies by PLC leaders. Cooperative structures are familiar instructional tools to teachers; when used within the culture of PLC-team discussions, these tools provide a comfort zone for interacting with others. This approach takes away some of the discomfort of leading the group, since teacher leaders rotate through the leadership role.
Providing structures for collaborative conversations is one of the most critical elements of PLCs. These structures quickly become part of the PLC norms and provide the tools for productive discourse. In addition, another benefit of using interactive strategies to foster collegial conversations is the opportunity for participants to transfer these engaging strategies to their own classrooms.
Following are two collaborative, team-building Action Options: (1) the Human Graph and (2) the AB Pyramid Game. In addition, the All Things PLC website (www.allthingsplc.info) is important to note early in this discussion. This site
provides a plethora of resource options for PLCs to reference as their work unfolds and includes articles, blogs, conversations, threaded discussions, and success stories from school staff across North America.
Action Option 1: Human Graph
One consistent feature of any high-performing group is that all members work together toward a common goal. Before that can happen, however, the group has to have a clear understanding of where they are in relation to the goals of the group.
The Human Graph is an effective way to determine where the group stands while simultaneously giving feedback to every group member. In this way, the whole staff can see how other members of the PLC feel about the progress of their team. The focus topic for this Human Graph is Our PLC team is . . .
To begin, designate five spots in the front of the room, like the baseline of a bar graph, and label them with the following headings:
1 Fishing for PLC ideas
2 Forming PLC teams
3 Floundering in team meetings
4 Functioning as a PLC team
5 Flourishing as a PLC team
Ask participants to stand on the line they feel best describes where their PLC is in terms of development. Encourage them to have a conversation with those on the same line, explaining and justifying why they selected that position. Do not spend too much time defining the terms on the graph. Tell participants that the vagueness is intentional as it makes the activity more engaging. It requires them to make inferences and value judgments.
After a sufficient amount of time, sample the various opinions of the group. Allow people to change their positions as they hear ideas that make them question their original decisions. It’s okay for them to change their minds. By allowing people to share their thinking, the whole group becomes aware of members’ opinions on the PLC’s progress.
A benefit of using the Human Graph activity, rather than just having a discussion around a table, is that it forces members to vote with their feet. This act of taking a stand communicates what they feel in a concrete way that is clear to the group as a whole. If the goal is to determine how the PLC members feel about their team progress, the Human Graph is a more active and engaging method than a discussion or member survey.
Following is a possible Human Graph application for new teams. Begin by saying that a PLC focuses on these five elements: 1 Students 2 Results 3 Lifelong learning 4 Common values 5 Shared vision/mission
Ask the participants to stand on the attribute they feel is the most important. Urge them to discuss their thinking with others who have chosen the same attribute. This simple strategy elicits valuable feedback in a very short period of time because members see where they are in relation to the rest of the group and are able to discuss their positions.
After processing the results of the graph, the members of the PLC can offer suggestions on how they might use the Human Graph in their individual classrooms.
Action Option 2: AB Pyramid Game
The AB Pyramid Game stirs up prior knowledge and introduces vocabulary around the idea of professional learning communities. This game is also effective for PLC team building.
To begin, one member of the PLC team facilitates the AB Pyramid Game while the rest of the members split into pairs; each pair sits shoulder to shoulder, with one person facing a screen and the other with his or her back to the screen.
The facilitator puts a single PLC vocabulary word on the screen, and the members facing the screen give one-word clues to their partners to help them guess the words. Each participant should have two rounds as the giver of clues and two rounds as the guesser. This role reversal increases the emotional hook as the teacher teams begin to understand how to play the game. When a participant correctly guesses a word, the partner giving clues signals the facilitator by raising his or her hand. The facilitator then shows the next word on the screen. This approach ensures good pacing for the whole group—both for partners who guessed correctly and quickly and for partners who are stuck. For each of the four rounds, one member will try to get his or her partner to guess four PLC vocabulary words:
